Ordinance committee to meet despite council vote to end panel

DOVER — The Ordinance Codification and Verification Committee is scheduled to meet this morning despite the City Council having voted against extending the committee’s deadline beyond Dec. 1.

On Monday, committee head Councilor Catherine Cheney sent out the agenda for the Dec. 5 meeting in an email. City Manager Michael Joyal responded, reminding Cheney the council voted against extending the deadline and that the committee was supposed to end on Dec. 1.

“Since the City Council will not be meeting to clarify their direction prior to the meeting you are scheduling, to err on the side of caution and ensure compliance with RSA 91-a notice requirements, I have instructed the City Clerk to post the agenda and will have staff attend this coming Wednesday morning,” he wrote.

Mayor Dean Trefethen also responded, writing, “I think it would be inappropriate for the Ordinance Committee to meet considering the Council’s vote not to extend the committee beyond December 1.”

Regardless, Councilor Michael Weeden and Cheney have both confirmed the committee is planning on meeting in Council Chambers in City Hall at 8 a.m. today to “create a wrap up document, a conclusion and to show what we have done,” Weeden said.

As for the future of the committee, Trefethen wrote in an email, “The council as a whole will need to decide how to proceed with authentication and codification of our ordinances.”

Weeden said he plans to bring up an ordinance to re-establish the committee.